T. Boone Pickens could often be found in companies public in 1964, forming restructuring of corporate America. Pickens his company’s 昀椀tness center peddling on Mesa Petroleum Co., and establishing its 昀椀rst implemented this strategy in 1982 with a stationary bike or playing racquetball. headquarters in Amarillo, Texas. the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Cities Service Photograph by the Oklahoma Publishing Company, January 11,1983. Courtesy In 1969 Pickens bought out Hugoton Company. The attempt resulted in an Oklahoma Historical Society. Production Company, giving Mesa a intense bidding war among several rival substantial portion of the Hugoton Gas oil companies that drove up stock prices. Field. The largest gas 昀椀eld in the nation In the end, Occidental Petroleum bought at the time, it stretched from the Texas out Cities Service and Mesa walked away Panhandle to southwestern Kansas. The with a $31 million pro昀椀t. following year Pickens struck out in his Pickens went on to use the strategy on attempt to buy out the Fort Worth, Texas- 昀椀ve more big oil companies, including based Southland Royalty Company, who Unocal and his one-time employer managed to avoid the takeover by waging Phillips Petroleum, which earned him $89 a successful legal campaign against Mesa. million. Perhaps his most stunning victory Three years later, however, Mesa grew came in 1984 when he took on Gulf Oil, considerably again as Pickens purchased leading to a merger between Gulf Oil the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based and Standard Oil Company to create Pubco Petroleum Company, acquiring a Chevron. In the end, Mesa earned $760 large number of oil and gas properties million. While his success skyrocketed, located in southern Louisiana, the Rocky he never forgot his time in Stillwater. In Mountains, and the northern part of the 1983, the Oklahoma State University mid-western United States. Board of Regents awarded Pickens the A longtime advocate of physical 昀椀tness Henry G. Bennett Distinguished Service as fundamental for increasing the focus, Award in recognition of a $1 million stamina, and productivity of his company donation that he made to the university’s workforce, Pickens built a $2.5 million, School of Geology. 30,000-square-foot 昀椀tness center at Mesa In 1985, Pickens became recognized Petroleum’s headquarters in 1979. He as the highest-paid corporate executive instituted corporate wellness programs for in the United States for earning more his employees and their spouses, and was than $20 million in salary and deferred In 1985, T. Boone said to have been at the center most days, compensations from Mesa. That year he Pickens was featured usually playing racquetball or peddling on turned Mesa Petroleum into Mesa Limited on the cover of a stationary bike. Partnership, Inc., with an emphasis on TIME Magazine. Prior to the 1980s, Mesa had grown returning capital to shareholders, following Courtesy Oklahoma into one of the largest independent oil and a friendly merger with Amarillo, Texas- Historical Society. gas companies in the world. By 1982, its based independent oil company Pioneer assets had exceeded $2 billion. In both Natural Gas. He also formed the Boone 1981 and 1982, The Wall Street Transcript Company with business partners Drew awarded Pickens with the “gold award,” Craig, Sidney Tassin, and David Batchelder acknowledging him as the top executive in to make deals separate from Mesa. In the oil industry. addition, Pickens’ victory over Gulf Oil Mesa was getting ready to take on the prior year earned him the spotlight on a number of big oil companies. From a 1985 TIME Magazine cover featuring Pickens’ perspective, many of these Pickens holding a hand of playing cards companies were being led by corporate depicting oil derricks. The cover drew managers whose lack of regard for infamy from rival corporate circles. shareholders’ interests and ability to get In 1986, Pickens founded the United away with incompetence weakened their Shareholders Association (USA) to companies. Pickens instituted a unique address a wide range of shareholders’ A popular shirt among former Cities Service corporate acquisition strategy to challenge issues with corporate governance. At the employees in Tulsa, Oklahoma shows entrenched, ineffective corporate height of its eight-year existence, it had the history of that company since 1981. managements by focusing on their lack of more than 65,000 members. Once a Photograph by Bob Albright for The Daily ownership and accountability. The result year, USA published a report listing 昀椀fty Oklahoman, September 15, 1983. Courtesy triggered a movement that led to a broad of the most non-responsive companies Oklahoma Historical Society. 32